Teammates on the Ball State women’s golf team, Jenna Hague and Meghan Perry, were side-by-side during the 113th Women’s Western Golf Association National Amateur Championship at the
Dayton Country Club.
Hague said Perry made her unexpected second-place finish in the tournament possible. After being eliminated in her first-round match, Perry took up caddying for Hague.
“We kept it light-hearted, we kept it fun,” Hague said. “If [Perry’s] not on the bag, I probably don’t even win my second match, so she was a big part of it.”
The two would discover that a relationship off the course had strengthened their relationship on it.
Hague said Perry, her good friend and roommate, provided a reliable voice on the field. Even in a critical situation that could have been match-deciding, she was able to lean on her teammate.
“[Perry] has the guts to call me off shot and say ‘I don’t think you have the right club in your hand.’ That takes a lot of trust in a relationship that really you can only form with certain people,” she said.
Perry helped to read greens, to call shots and to keep her friend at ease on the course. The result was a tournament run that few, even Hague herself, saw coming.
Ball State women’s golf coach Katherine Mowat was as thrilled with the result as anyone.
“It’s one of the biggest things you can accomplish, as an amateur,” Mowat said. “You look at the seeding strength and the beginning 144 golfers, it’s just flooded with talent. It’s just an incredible feat.”
Hague competed for six-consecutive days before falling into the championship round. Two days of qualifying led into a four-day stint of tournament play.
She defeated golfers from North Carolina State and Michigan State, as well as Ohio State and Arizona State commits. The caliber of opponent Hague competed against in the tournament made it that much more important to her.
“It’s really big, probably my biggest tournament showing, ever,” Hague said. “To go head-to-head with some of the best players that go to big schools, too, it was a big confidence-booster for me.”
After overcoming the solid group of opponents, Hague found herself pitted against the No. 2 amateur golfer in the country. Ashlan Ramsey — an opponent she knew would pose a huge challenge.
“It was awesome,” Hague said. “Going into the day, I knew who I was facing, and I knew everything that she had done in her career, and I knew it was going to be a tough task. I was just trying to enjoy everything and learn from it.”
Though Hague fell to Ramsey, 7 and 6, in the 36-hole championship match, she took the defeat in stride.
What she learned was just as valuable as the tournament run itself.
“On any given day, you can beat any given player,” Hague said. “On paper, I wasn’t supposed to win any of my matches. I was ranked lower than every single girl that I played.”
That’s an idea she wants all of her teammates, Perry included, to adopt next season.
